Clumsy in Love
by randompandattack
Summary: The Total Drama teens are on vacation, and Tyler knows he should be having fun, but he's too depressed after his break-up with Lindsay. Luckily for him Bridgette seems determined to raise his spirits. Will Tyler realize he might be better off with a different blonde? Tyler/Bridgette one-shot


**A/N: Hey guys, how's it going? So Tyler is one of my favorite Total Drama guys but I've never written anything for him. I decided to change that. Just a quick fun one-shot. Hopefully I'm not the only Tyler/Bridgette fan out there. One last thing, this story contains a reference to a different Total Drama story I wrote. I've you've read my previous stories see if you can catch it. **

**Clumsy in Love**

It was winter and the total drama teens were on vacation. Of course it didn't seem like winter to them. That's because they were spending it in Hawaii on a vacation the producers paid for. It was so nice and warm outside they all forgot what month it was. They were all staying at an expensive hotel located right on the beach and the best part was no Chris Mclean so everyone was having a really good time.

Well, almost everyone.

The clumsy jock Tyler may have been the one exception. He felt depressed and just unhappy in general. He knew he should be happy to be on this great vacation without any school work or challenges, but it just wasn't happening. Nothing he tried would take his mind off of what was bugging him. But he didn't show it; he didn't want any of his friends to feel bad.

It was early afternoon of their third day in Hawaii and many of the teens were hanging out by the pool. Some of them were hanging out at the beach or the boardwalk but most of them were just chilling by the pool for now. Tyler was there too, but he wasn't in the water. Instead he was laying on his back in one of the white reclining chairs beside the pool. He was dressed in his favorite red swim trunks and a pair of sunglasses.

His hands were clasped behind his head as he sat there trying not to think of anything. This was working as well as could be expected; meaning not at all. The sounds of his fellow former competitors swimming, splashing and overall having fun was rather distracting. Tyler knew he'd have better luck if he had just stayed in his room but he thought that would be too suspicious. Someone would notice and come ask him what was wrong. The whole reason he was laying there in the first place was to look like everyone else.

Unable to just keep laying there, Tyler pulls himself up into a seated position. Picking up his fruity drink with the bendy straw that he left on the ground beside him he took a sip and looked around. He saw what he had already heard: fun. Ezekiel and Izzy ran past him spraying each other with water guns and laughing. In the pool he could Courtney on top of Brick's shoulders as they played chicken against Gwen and Harold.

Everyone looked like they were having fun. Tyler sighed. That was when he heard her voice. He turned his head to the side. His ears hadn't deceived him; it was really her. On the other side of the pool was the dumb blonde Lindsay. She had just arrived at the pool and was running over in her skimpy bright red bikini. Her hand was waving around in the air as she ran toward someone. When Tyler's eyes looked over to where she was waving he wasn't surprised by who he saw.

His fist tightened reflexively. Lindsay was running over towards the geek Cody. The short brunette was wearing his own swim trunks and waiting for her over at the tiki bar. He stood up at her approach and when she arrived Lindsay pulled him off of his feet and into her breasts for her version of a hug. Nobody else noticed or paid it any attention. It wasn't anything abnormal. Tyler was the only one who had noticed.

One month before the trip to Hawaii Tyler and Lindsay had broken up. Technically Tyler had been the one to bring it up, but Lindsay had agreed easily enough. It wasn't that he wanted to break up with her or anything, but he just couldn't take it anymore. Lindsay had a terrible habit of forgetting his name and sometimes she even forgot who he was or that they were dating in the first place. This caused a lot of trouble for Tyler who just wished his girlfriend knew who he was.

But enough was enough; he couldn't do it any longer. But sadly, after he broke up with her he didn't feel any better. He still missed her just as much and so many times he wished he could take it back. When it was time to go on vacation the jock told himself he would have to be strong and stay away from Lindsay, but secretly he was glad for the chance to see her.

But when he got here and learned what happened he felt real heartbreak. Apparently Lindsay had gotten over him pretty quickly (or so Beth said) and a week later was dating their mutual friend Cody. This hurt Tyler more than he had expected. Cody had been one of his closest friends from Total Drama and he couldn't help but feel as if this was an act of betrayal.

Not too long after Tyler learned this Cody tried to talk to him. He told the jock that he didn't want any hard feelings and that he had always considered Tyler a friend. Tyler thought that Cody was being sincere, but that didn't matter. When the shorter brunette asked to shake hands Tyler just walked away. Ever since then he's had to endure Cody acting lovey-dovey with his ex-girlfriend; the girl he couldn't stop caring about.

Muttering something under his breath Tyler turned away. He didn't want to watch them. Taking a bigger sip of his drink he considered leaving the pool but wasn't sure where to go or what to do. Somehow his eyes wandered back to the happy couple. Cody and Lindsay were now seated next to each other at the tiki bar. They each had a drink and seemed to be talking together happily and laughing. It always stung Tyler that Lindsay remembered Cody's name every time but could never remember his.

Then suddenly the two were no longer talking as they had both leaned closer together and were now kissing excitedly. Before he had time to think his body reacted and Tyler got to his feet. He left his drink on the ground and started to walk away. That was just something he couldn't bear to watch. He wanted more than anything to get the image of Cody kissing Lindsay out of his head.

He didn't get away. As he was making his way around the pool he tripped on some of the spilled water and hit the ground hard. Luckily only a few people had seen and since Tyler was known for being clumsy they just laughed and went back to what they were doing. the jock's face turned red in embarrassment as he quickly picked himself up.

He wanted to get back to walking away but found his path blocked by Duncan who was standing in front of him with his arms crossed. "What a dork." Duncan smirked. "Where are you going anyway clumsy?"

Tyler grit his teeth. "Just get out of my way Duncan." He tried to push past the punk, but he was rebuffed. Duncan had spotted something out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, I know." He laughed. "Running away from that nerd who stole your girlfriend huh? Yeah, I'd be pretty ashamed if I lost my girlfriend to a wimp like that."

Duncan's rude comments were loud, and they soon drew a crowd. "Just shut the hell up Duncan!" Tyler replied angrily. His face was turning red from both anger and embarrassment.

Duncan just ignored him. "Maybe I should go have a talk with those two. I have the room right next to those two and I couldn't get to sleep last night thanks to all the noise those two made. They were really going at it. Especially that blonde bitch," he then did his best impression of Lindsay. "Oh! Oh Cody! Harder Cody!"

"SHUT UP!" Tyler cried out before pushing Duncan back a few feet.

"Hey watch it!" Duncan said pushing him back this time. "Keep your hands off me your idiot unless you want your ass kicked."

Tyler's hands clenched into fists. "Maybe I do." He then realized what he said. "I mean, we'll see who kicks who's ass."

The jock was sizing Duncan up. He knew the punk had plenty of fighting experience and could probably kick his ass. Tyler's natural clumsiness would almost definitely get in his way like always. On the other hand he was physically more muscular than Duncan and believed if he could get the first hit maybe he could win.

But before either boy could make a move someone intervened. "Alright, that's enough! Both of you boys back off!"

Tyler blinked. He saw a stern looking Bridgette standing between him and Duncan with her arms outstretched on either side. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore her favorite dark blue wetsuit.

"But he-

"No Tyler," Bridgette shook her head. "Just let it go." Her eyes looked straight into Tyler's and didn't look away. She acted like she didn't even know Duncan was there. After a few seconds she lowered her arms. "Let's get out of here okay?" She grabbed him by the arm and started to turn him around. Tyler knew he could've resisted, but didn't.

He turned around and started to walk away with Bridgette. He didn't look at Duncan who was still standing there with that smug look on his face. The delinquent hadn't really wanted to fight, but he couldn't resist one last insult before they parted. "I just hope for your sake they were using protection last night Tyler!" He, along with a few people in the crowd, began to laugh.

Tyler saw red. "You bastard!" In the span of two seconds he had turned around, ran the few feet separating him from the punk, and punched Duncan in the stomach sending him straight into the pool. He hit the water hard with a splash and a few people from the crowd cheered.

"Oh geez," Bridgette slapped her hand over her head in frustration. "Let's go Tyler!" She grabbed him by the arm again and pulled him away from the pool and out of the hotel.

A few seconds later Duncan's head surfaced out of the pool spitting out all the water he swallowed. "Son of a bitch!" He growled. "He pushed me into the pool? What am I now, Alejandro?"

Hearing all the noise and wondering what the commotion was, Cody and Lindsay walked over holding hands. "Hey guys, what's going on?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, what's with all the splashing?" Lindsay inquired.

Everyone looked awkwardly away. Even Duncan got out of the pool quietly and walked off. Cody and Lindsay looked around confused. "What was that about?" The blonde asked.

Cody shrugged. "I have no idea."

* * *

Meanwhile Bridgette had dragged Tyler away from the pool and out of the hotel entirely. They were now standing on the sidewalk between the boardwalk and the beach. "Okay, that's far enough!" Tyler pulled his arm free.

Bridgette looked at him with a worried expression. "Tyler what's wrong?"

The look on Tyler's face was something between confusion and annoyance. "What's wrong? What do you mean what's wrong? You heard what Duncan was saying!"

"Well yeah, I did." Bridgette nodded. "And I'm sorry, I know that must've really hurt." She paused for a moment before continuing. "But I know it's more than that. You haven't been yourself these last few days. Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

Tyler sighed. "I don't know…"

Bridgette poked the jock in his side. "Come on Tyler, you know your secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone."

Tyler sighed again and turned away. "It's just…seeing Lindsay is harder than I thought. Especially now that she has a new boyfriend. I just…didn't think it would hurt this much anymore."

Bridgette put her hand on Tyler's shoulder. "I know what that's like. After Geoff and I broke up it hurt for a while, but it does get better Tyler."

"Yeah, I don't know…"

"You just need something to take your mind off it." She smiled. "Let's go surfing!"

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Surfing?"

Bridgette nodded. "Have you ever gone?"

"Well no, but I've always wanted to!" He said feeling a little excited.

"Great!" Bridgette smiled. "You go rent a board and I'll get mine from my room." Tyler nodded and the two separated.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Tyler and Bridgette were walking in the sand on the beach carrying their surfboards. Actually Bridgette was walking while Tyler was hopping up and down as they went. "Ouch! Ouch! That smarts!" The sand was hotter than expected and was turning his blistering feet red.

Bridgette chuckled. "You should've worn sandals silly. Haven't you ever been to the beach before?"

"Not since I was a kid," Tyler answered while continuing to hop up and down.

"Well wasn't the sand hot back then?"

"Well…yeah." Tyler admitted. "But that wasn't in Hawaii. I was hoping the sand here might be cooler."

"No such look." Bridgette watched the jock's silly dance with amusement. A minute later they were almost at the water when Tyler broke into a sprint. He almost made it but a few feet from the water tripped on a kid's sand castle and landed face first into the ocean. The nature girl rushed forward in concern. "Are you okay?"

Tyler pulled his head out of the ocean and spit up some water. "Yeah, I'm fine. That happens to be all the time. Actually," he paused in thought, "I'm surprised that didn't happen earlier. I should've tripped a dozen times walking down that crowded beach."

"Now that you mention it I haven't tripped or caused anyone to fall down since we've gotten here." Bridgette mentioned. "We're both pretty clumsy so it must be a miracle that nothing's happened besides you falling in the ocean."

"At least my feet aren't burning anymore." Tyler gave a goofy smile.

"That's what I like about you, Tyler. You always think on the bright side."

Tyler laughed. "With my luck, I kinda have to." He decided to change the subject. "So how about that surfing lesson? I'm so psyched to surf some waves!"

"Whoa tiger," Bridgette smirked. "Don't think it'll be so easy. Surfing takes a long time to master."

"Hey you just watch me," Tyler said confidently. "I'm a great athlete. I'll master surfing in no time!"

_1 hour later_

"Aaaaahhhh!" Tyler screamed as he fell off a wave and face first into the water. Ten seconds later he resurfaced spitting up more water.

Bridgette drifted over sitting on top of her board. "Told you it wasn't easy."

"You were right." Tyler admitted. "How do you make it look so easy?"

"Years of practice." The blonde answered.

"How long have you been surfing?"

"Since I was a kid." Suddenly Bridgette was reminded of something. "Hey, did you ever watch that cartoon _Rocket Power_ when you were a kid?"

It took a moment for Tyler to check his memory. "Oh yeah, that was my favorite cartoon as a kid."

"Mine too! I wanted to be just like those kids. That's one of the reasons I practiced surfing so much."

"That's pretty cool." Tyler smiled. "Thanks for sharing."

Bridgette shrugged. "No problem. So you want to try again?"

The jock nodded. "This time for sure!" He paddled back out further into the water to wait for a wave.

Bridgette watched him carefully in order to spot any mistakes he made that she could help him with afterward. She could tell since she started teaching him how to surf that Tyler had a lot of experience in athletics and was fit from working out but because of his clumsiness lacked any real athletic ability.

And once again, Tyler's clumsiness got in his way and he wiped out. Bridgette cringed as he hit the water; she could imagine how much that hurt. Once he paddled back to her she told him what she thought. "You okay?"

"That sucked." He frowned. "Got any tips?"

"It's your stance," Bridgette said. "You keep slipping. Hmm…" An idea had popped into her head, but it seemed too ridiculous to work. Was it just crazy enough to work? She couldn't tell but there were no other ideas popping into her head so she decided to go with it. "I have an idea. Come over here and get on my board."

"Get on your board?" Tyler looked confused. "Why?"

"Just do it." Bridgette insisted.

Tyler complied. Leaving his own board in the water he swam over to Bridgette's. The blonde moved back in order to give Tyler room to get on. It felt strange to him to sit on a surfboard with a pretty girl right behind him.

"Now let's go!" They both paddled with their hands further out until they spotted an approaching wave. "When I saw "go" I want you to stand up okay?" Bridgette instructed Tyler. The jock nodded. Soon the wave was coming up right behind them. The surfer girl tried her best to wait for exactly the right moment. When she felt it coming she called out. "Go!"

Both Bridgette and Tyler stood up at the same time on the surfboard. There wasn't much room but they both managed. "Whoa! This is crazy!" Tyler was shocked they hadn't fallen off yet but believed they were going to wipe out any second now. His whole body was moving from side to side and his arms were waving around unpredictably.

"Tyler give me your hand!" Bridgette said holding out her own. Tyler clasped Bridgette's hand and felt himself steadying. The two then held on as they managed to ride the wave out for a good ten seconds before the wave knocked them both into the water.

A few seconds later both of them resurfaced next to Bridgette's board. "That…was amazing!" Tyler exclaimed. "I can't believe that worked! What happened?"

"I don't really know," Bridgette admitted with a victorious smile on her face. "But I've noticed something weird lately."

"What's that?"

"You and me are the clumsiest people who've ever been on Total Drama." Bridgette pointed out. "When we're together nearby people should go flying, stuff should fall down and you should end up in a hospital bed. But that doesn't happen." Tyler looked at her curiously. He knew what she was talking about but hadn't quite grasped the strangeness of it till now. "What I'm trying to say is I think my clumsiness at hurting other people and your clumsiness at hurting yourself cancel each other out."

"So what your saying is…" Tyler put two and two together in his head. "That when I'm with you…I'm not clumsy?"

Bridgette nodded. "That's what it looks like."

A big grin lit up Tyler's face. "Yeah!" he threw his hands up in the air. "That's awesome! We should hang out more often!" Caught up in his moment of elation he pulled Bridgette closed toward him in the water into a big hug. The surfer girl blushed slightly at being so close but didn't pull away. A few seconds later Tyler realized what he was doing and let go. "Oh sorry about that; I just got excited."

Bridgette giggled, "I could tell. But don't worry about it. I wouldn't mind spending some more time with you either. Do you want to continue surfing?"

"Yeah, I want to do that again!" Tyler agreed excitedly.

* * *

It was after five p.m. by the time the two finally got out of the water. They had some successes and failures surfing but mostly a lot of fun. "Oh man I am so tired." Tyler said rubbing the stiffness in his arm as he and Bridgette walked back to the hotel. "And I probably got sunburned."

"But it was worth it right?" Bridgette asked.

"Definitely," Tyler agreed. "I want to do that again tomorrow." Just then they could hear the sound of his stomach groaning. He put his hand over his stomach. "But right now I just want to eat."

"Well if you don't mind hanging out with me some more, I know of a cool little restaurant with great grub." Bridgette told him as they walked into the lobby of the hotel. "Interested?"

"That sounds great," Tyler told her. "And no, I don't mind hanging out with you some more."

Bridgette looked happy to hear him say that. "Great! Meet me down here in thirty minutes okay?" Tyler agreed and the two split up and headed back to their respective rooms. Both of them took a shower and got dressed in clean clothes. Tyler put on a white t-shirt along with red shorts and sandals. Bridgette wore her usual outfit but without the sweatshirt; instead she wore a light blue blouse.

Half an hour later they both met back up in the lobby. "It's this way!" Bridgette clasped hands with the jock and pulled him out of the hotel. They walked and talked for a few blocks until they reached a small casual restaurant where they got a table right outside.

"They have this great salad here," Bridgette said as the two were looking through the menu. "The vegetables they put on it are really fresh and it makes all the difference. I think I'm going to have to get it again. What about you?"

Tyler looked over the menu until something caught his eye. "Hmm they have a cool looking burger here that has not only bacon but a fried egg on top. I've never had a burger with an egg on it. I'd like to try it." Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he looked over his menu to his dining companion. "Oh crap," he began to apologize. "I forgot you're a vegetarian. Should I order something else?"

He expected Bridgette to be mad at him, but was surprised to see her begin to laugh. "Of course not Tyler, don't be silly! Being a vegetarian is a life choice that I decided on. It's something I live by, not you." She assured him. "If you want a burger then get one. It won't bother me."

"Really?" Tyler said surprised. "That's pretty cool of you."

Bridgette shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "Well come on, how big a bitch would I be if I forced people not to eat meat around me just because I chose to be a vegetarian? I know some vegan girls like that that refuse to date a guy unless he becomes a vegetarian for them. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"

"Yeah," Tyler chuckled. "Sounds like something Heather would do if she was a vegetarian."

"Exactly," she nodded. "I'm not one of those girls. I wouldn't have any problem dating a guy who ate meat."

A slight awkward silence fell between them at those words. Bridgette hadn't realized until she said it how it came out. Luckily the waiter showed up and the two of them ordered their meals. After the waiter left Bridgette decided to bring something else up. "So how was today been? Did I manage to take your mind off of Lindsay?"

Bridgette had worried that being reminded of the dumb blonde would depress Tyler, but his reaction wasn't as bad as she thought. "Actually yeah, I hadn't really thought of her at all until now."

"I'm sorry to bring it up," she apologized. "You just seemed a lot happier."

"I am," he assured her. "Really. You did a lot for me today Bridgette. More than anyone's done in a long time. But why? Why go through all the trouble?"

Bridgette pushed some hair out of her eyes. "It wasn't much trouble. I just…wanted to help you. I wanted to help you after you helped me." She saw the look of confusion on his face. "Oh come on, you remember. When Geoff broke up with me two months ago. You were there helping me feel better and encouraging me. That meant a lot to me."

"But I didn't do anything special." Tyler admitted. "You had a bunch of friends doing the same thing. I'm surprised you even remember the small bit I did."

"Well…I did." Bridgette began to blush. "Ever since then I've began to notice what a great guy you are Tyler. You're nice, funny, energetic and you always give one hundred percent no matter what anyone else says. I really like that about you."

Now Tyler was starting to feel embarrassed. No one ever seemed to compliment him. People usually just laughed at him or ignored him. "You're too nice Bridgette. I'm just a clumsy oaf. You're the one that's amazing. The way you take care of things and always look out for everyone and how smart you are. Not to mention you're beautiful."

"You think I'm…beautiful?"

He nodded.

Both teens gazed deeply into the other's eyes when suddenly they were interrupted by the waiter. Their food had arrived. Feeling slightly embarrassed they quickly ate in silence. After finishing they paid the bill and left.

The sun was starting to go down and it was a little cooler. "You want to take a walk?" Tyler asked.

"That sounds nice." The two walked side by side down the sidewalk for a few minutes. As they were crossing the street they spotted Cody and Lindsay outside of an ice cream shop. They were both eating ice cream at a table together.

Neither noticed as Tyler and Bridgette walked right past them and back toward the beach. "Are you okay?" Bridgette asked placing her hand over Tyler's arm.

They walked over to a secluded place on the beach. "I'm…okay," he told her. "To be honest it still hurts, but only a little."

Bridgette bit her lip. "Tyler, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I really like you!" Bridgette admitted. "But I don't want to take Lindsay's place or anything. I want you to like me for me. Do you think you could do that?"

Tyler answered by picking the surfer girl up in a massive hug. "I do! When I'm with you I don't think about her at all. I just feel…happy." He puts her down. "Is that good?"

Bridgette smiles. "That's great Tyler."

The two turn to watch the sun set over the water while holding hands. Without turning to look at her, Tyler speaks. "Is now a good time?"

The blonde nods. "Now would be good."

Tyler leans over and captures Bridgette's lips in a single kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Before anyone asks, let me explain the vegetarian part. It seems every time I read a Bridgette romance story the guy always has to become a vegetarian for her, which I think is ridiculous. I had a cousin who was a vegetarian who never had a problem with me eating meat around her and I wanted to do something different and have Bridgette be like that. Anyway reviews are appreciated. **


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